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The merger of the two distinctively different provinces was forced on
Sri Lanka by the then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Ghandi, by signing the
Indo-Lanka Accord 19 years ago.
The Pact has gone by default and is non-exist because it stipulated a
referendum by the people of the North and East to approve it and also
the supreme legislative body of our country the Parliament had not
approved it and enacted it in our legislature.
This was the finding of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka thanks to two
eminent lawyers H.L. de Silva P.C. and S.L. Gunasekera P.C. cleverly
presenting the case against this illegal merger.
This merger was due to the manipulations of the then Secretary
Defence of India, J. N. Dixit, who had dreams of becoming the Viceroy of
India and subjugating Sri Lanka as a colony of India.
The then Sri Lanka President J.R. Jayewardene was forced to accept on
the background of the Parippu drop in Jaffna by the Indian Air Force.
J.R. Jayewardene only published a gazette notice even without Cabinet
approval.
The then Prime Minister R. Premadasa vehemently opposed this along
with the majority of the Ministers. After a few weeks of signing the
accord, the LTTE killed its architect and signatory of the Indian state
as they did not approve this. As a result of this Accord, India lost a
very young and promising Prime Minister of the famous Indian Nehru
dynasty and the present leader of the Indian National Congress Sonia
Ghandi, left a widow.
The Indian Supreme Court found the LTTE leader V. Prabakaran and
deputy leader Pottu Amman guilty of the murder after a protracted trail
held in India, the Supreme Court of India issued extradition and arrest
warrants on the two culprits. LTTE theoretician the late Anton
Balasingham apologised openly to the world for this heinous crime. What
is India doing about this disrespect to their Supreme Court and the
murder of their Prime Minister?
Ethnically, culturally and religiously the people of the North are
distinctively different from each other. The Eastern Province has a
bigger Muslim and Sinhala population than Tamils. The Eastern Province
Tamils have a different culture and more Christian than the Northern
orthodox Hindus. The Eastern Tamils speak Sinhalese as well as Tamil.
The Muslims are living in harmony and they have inter marriages. The
Muslims have adopted Sinhala names.
The Eastern Tamils led by Col. Karuna broke off from the LTTE due to
these differences and also due to the avariciousness of Prabakaran.
The LTTE killed many Muslims in Jaffna and chased them out and about
20,000 are in refugee camps in Puttalam etc; They also chased away the
Muslims from Sampur and are attempting murder more Muslims and Sinhalese
in the East, to set up a exclusively Tamil Eelam.
I was surprised that some Muslim leaders and Ranil Wickremesinghe
advocating a 10-year merger. That will help the Tigers wipe out the
Sinhala and Muslims from the East. The Indian State has no business to
meddle in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka and they cannot dictate that
North and East merge.
The International community should take cognisance of this fact and
stop LTTE atrocities in the East.
ALBERT S. CASINADER,
Batticaloa
There are many International Schools operating with beautiful English
names, but the saddest part of the story is their parents get a raw
deal, for the money paid mainly because many International Schools do
not have the so-called international standards. This is somewhat like
the many Chinese Restaurants which operate here, when the chef of these
so-called Chinese Restaurants don't even know the names of the Chinese
dishes?
It is shocking to see and here that many teachers who are employed
are not qualified and even cannot converse in English fluently. The sole
criteria is money and nothing else.
The Government should bring in strict legislation immediately and
have a close check on them as many of these schools are not fit to be
called International Schools. The demand for these schools have been
created mainly due to the abolition of the English medium. They flourish
thanks to the English language, simply because if you are good in your
English and Mathematics employment is at your doorstep.
The parents should be notified of the qualifications of all teachers
who are employed in these schools.
If strict legislation is not brought in now, there can be great
disaster, because children is the greatest wealth of a Nation and it is
they who, in the near future, will be decision makers to our Nation. If
something is not done now, it will be like the 'blind leading the
blind.'
Li Kwang Shu,
Kandy
Lalith Kotelawela the big business tycoon has done it again. its
another brain dead statement who once again has put his foot in the
mouth.
When the whole world had collectively branded the LTTE as a terrorist
organisation, here comes this dude terming them as freedom fighters!
This statement was made to a Dubai based newspaper Gulf News. May be he
had to leave his Motherland to make such a stupid statement. That itself
is an insult to our brave men who lay down their lives in the name of
freedom, so they can make big money and become business tycoons.
How does he explain the countless Tamil intellectuals murdered by
this brutal organisation. How come these innocent people who had made a
name like Amirthalingam, Kadirgamar, Tiruchelvam stand in the way or
their so-called freedom struggle. Mr. Kotelawela can you please explain
to us. How did Rajiv Gandhi who helped them initially come to be
assassinated? How many innocent people have been murdered?
They claim that they are the sole representatives of the Tamils. Then
why eliminate their own? That do baffle every right thinking people
throughout the universe. They are supporting and fighting for the Tamil
brothers and then on the other hand, they eliminate them if they don't
toe the line with their terrorism.
Only the people like Kotelawela cannot see those things. May be he is
blinded by his dislike for the Sinhala Buddhists. It just cannot be the
money factor because he has loads to drown himself. He can't be on their
pay roll like a few Lankans are.
He has criticised the administration of hitting back when our brave
service personnel and innocent civilians are butchered. What does he
expect a sovereign nation to do when the innocent civilians and brave
servicemen are butchered? Put your tail between your legs and bury your
head in the sand. No Mr. Kotelawela you retaliate. You give them a dose
of their own medicine. Right. That is what any democratic Government
will do when they are attacked.
Before they came to the negotiating table on the Irish/Britain long
drawn war, the one prerequisite demanded by the then President Bill
Clinton was that they lay down their arms. You cannot have one finger on
the trigger and talk peace. That is why this conflict has gone for over
a decade.
You need to come with a genuine desire for peace. Not to deceive the
whole world. He says its wrong for the Government to hold on to arms.
That statement is so stupid. For your information a democratic
government need to have the army, navy and the airforce to safeguard the
sovereignty of a nation.
What is wrong with that? A democratic Government won't lay down their
arms to talk to a terrorist organisation. You don't have to be a rocket
scientist to comprehend that.
You know the best thing if you don't know is to keep your thoughts to
yourself. Only a fool will rush where an angel will fear to tread. You
are making millions and millions because our servicemen gave their
lives, so you can live a millionaire's life with all the luxuries your
heart desire, while thousand of lives are lost in the quest to keep this
country free for all the citizens be it Sinhala, Tamils, Muslims and the
rest. Make no mistake we are for peace, but not at any cost.
We are striving for that knowing very well that ultimate peace will
be ushered by only a negotiated settlement. To do that they need to lay
down the arms and show their genuine desire for a settlement. The ball
is in their court, so it's time for them to act and obtain a negotiated
settlement with dignity.
May be Mr. Kotelawala can address that and convince the Tigers to
join the mainstream, and live like a proud nation.
SISIRA SAM WEERATUNGE,
USA
With the English language assuming greater importance both
academically and administratively, the people seeking its shelter are
met with a degree of warning from those who are 'almost white' to
ridicule the manner in which most of them speak English and pronounce
the words.
They say that the Sri Lankans should produce an accent similar to the
one used by the Englishmen. Should we be so slavish instead of being
master? Haven't we realised the manner in which English is pronounced
with an accent expressive of the identity of the Indians, Africans,
Chinese, or the Americans?
Grammar is the soul of a language which keeps the spirit of
expression alive and uniform wherever it is written or spoken. As
different people in different parts of the world use different accents,
our own people use different accents.
On the other hand, do we ever laugh at the Americans or the
Englishmen for their awkward accent they use when they speak Sinhala or
Tamil. Englishmen themselves never find anything wrong with our own
pronunciation of their English. They only try to understand us because
they know that it is not our mother tongue.
Let us learn from the rest of the world and stop being kalu-suddhas.
E. M. G. EDIRISINGHE,
Dehiwela |
